A Very English Drought

Parts of southern England have had the driest two consecutive winters since 1920-22. Incredibly, the water authorities are considering garden hose bans in some areas. This sort of decree is certainly something we've become use to in Sydney, but to have same experience in damp, eternally green England is unexpected.

Figures released by the Met Office today show that South-east and central southern England have had:

• the driest November 2004-January 2006 in over 80 years, with just 724 mm of rain;
• November 2004 to January 2006 was the second driest 15-month period on record;
• 13 of the last 15 months have recorded below the 1961-1990 long-term average, having only 72% of the average which is 1001 mm.

The map below shows that London's average rainfall compared with averages of the last thirty years. You can see that rainfall is 60-70% below normal (that's the blue bits, while the white bits are normal and the brown, higher than normal).

These reports certainly explain why our first winter in the UK has been surprising free of rain. While the sky overhead is almost permenantly grey, we've had very little rain since arriving. In fact, in the last two months, I can only think of three days where we really received a good soaking. There's certainly been the occassional damp day where you wonder if rain will break-out, but in general, other than a light misting we've rarely seen a serious downpour.

Sadly, we bought plenty of umbrellas and expensive rain gear but have yet to give these items a serious workout. No doubt next winter will be a rather brutal shock to the system!